


Fa Mulan and the Triwizard Tournament Conundrum

by hydrangea



Category: Disney Princesses, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crack, Crossover, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-19
Updated: 2012-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-21 14:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/598813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hydrangea/pseuds/hydrangea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Mulan's adventurousness as a firstie comes back to haunt her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fa Mulan and the Triwizard Tournament Conundrum

**Author's Note:**

  * For [betony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/betony/gifts).



"Just kill me now!" Mulan said as she collapsed bonelessly over her work table. Frog guts splattered over her robe but she couldn't really be bothered to care when a wave of her wand would take care of that later. 

Belle looked up from her cauldron. When she saw the frog guts, she rolled her eyes and waved her wand. "I wish you would stop doing that," she told Mulan. "Now, why are you whining? If it's about not getting the clue for the second task again, then just sit down and _think_ about it."

"It's not that," Mulan said, straightening up and starting to chop mugwort. "I figured it out yesterday -- did you know that they're re-using a task from the last Triwizard Tournament? Lazy, I tell you. Anyone could figure out the clue when they haven't _changed_ it and you can just go take a look in the library."

Belle added the mugwort and pushed some mint at Mulan for chopping -- for what, Mulan couldn't imagine, the potion certainly didn't need it. Probably to make it taste better -- Belle could be ridiculously soft-hearted at times.

"Perhaps," Belle said when the critical stage of the potion had passed, "but I'm rather certain the resources you used weren't available in the general section."

Mulan flushed. "Well... I might've asked Jane to go look it up for me. Pinch was being surprisingly adamant not to let me in -- she usually lets me as long as I don't bring anything out."

"Teacher's pet," Belle said affectionately. "If you've figured it out, though, why are you flopping dramatically all over my worktable? I'd've thought you'd be looking up breathing charms or something."

Mulan nearly chopped off her finger. "I knew you'd figured it out! And you refused to tell me! Some best friend you are."

"I believe in fair play," Belle said primly. "Here, help me decanter and tell me what's going on instead of being surprised at something you already know."

Mulan took the box of vials. "The clue said 'the person you value the most'."

"Yes?" Belle said, and began to pour the potion into the first vial. Then she stopped, accidentally spilling half of what she'd made onto the worktable instead. "Merlin. You're saying--?"

Mulan nodded miserably. "I haven't even confessed!"

"Only you," Belle said with a sigh. "Definitely only you." She put down the cauldron and vanished the mess. "Let's finish this, then find Rapunzel. We're going to need some brawn to our brain to fix this."

"You're the best!" Mulan crowed, nearly overturning the table in the process. "Oops."

Belle just shook her head.

*** 

"You sneaked out of the castle?" Rapunzel gasped. "When you were _eleven_?"

Belle nodded. "She did. And that's not the worst of it: she dressed up like a boy, made friends with this guy she likes and then didn't realize that he thought she was a boy."

"Would he even remember her from back then?" Rapunzel wondered. "It was pretty long ago."

Mulan kicked the wall, sending the cradle Rapunzel had made out of her hair swinging. "I didn't stop sneaking out," she said glumly. "He thinks I'm a boy living down at Hogsmeade."

Rapunzel looked thoughtfully at Mulan's chest. "Well, I guess it's understandable. Why is this an issue again though?" 

"The next challenge in the tournament involves the 'person you value the most'," Belle told her. "Guess who that would be."

Rapunzel slapped her hand over her mouth, eyes huge. Mulan scowled. "It's fine. Laugh all you want."

Rapunzel fairly exploded, pulling Belle into her infectious laughter, then Mulan as well. "This is funnier than when Hercules tried to make Megara date him," she giggled. She sobered up. "But I can see why it's a problem. Can't you just tell him?"

Mulan kicked the wall again, sending them swaying far enough she almost fell off. "I would, but there's no Hogsmeade weekend before the competition and he's avoiding me like the plague since the Charms incident."

They all took a moment to think about that.

"Well, it is understandable," Rapunzel offered. "I don't think he minded you _managed_ but taunting him with it was a bit much, even if he'd been lording it over you all."

"He wasn't even lording it over us. I was just...frustrated."

"The past is in the past though," Belle said. "The important thing is that he's avoiding Mulan and she really needs to tell him before the challenge tells him." She pointed at Rapunzel. "This is where you come in. Well, you and your hair."

Rapunzel brightened. "You want me to sneak in and capture him, don't you?"

"Is _that_ what you do with Eugene?"

"He can sneak well on his own. I just...provide leverage."

"But can you get Shang?" Mulan interrupted the banter. "He's pretty wicked with his wand." Both Rapunzel and Belle just looked at her. Mulan rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dirty minded."

"You make it so easy, though." Belle turned to Rapunzel. "Well?"

Rapunzel tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I can do it," she said. "There's this great place with only one entrance I can keep him. You _would_ have to climb though."

"The _tower_?" Belle and Mulan chorused.

"Of course!" Rapunzel beamed. "Where else?"

*** 

They planned the time and place carefully. Mulan, knowing Shang's schedule by heart, coordinated with Rapunzel to find a suitable place close to the tower, then coached Belle on what to say to get Shang to actually _come_ that way when there were easier ways to get to Transfigurations from Potions.

"Just tell him that you saw some upperclassman bullying a firstie," she said. "He's very opinionated about things like that."

"Says the girl who turned a sixth year into a toad for the very same thing."

"Well, like is drawn to like, right? You just have to get him there." Mulan climbed into the window and looked upwards. "You have the easy part really. _I_ have to reenact one of my greatest hits."

"Why can't you fly again?" Belle asked, hand hovering by Mulan's ankle as if she would fall _through_ the window.

"My broom is broken, no one will lend me one since Jane's got a bit ... altered and Hooch threatens to hex me at sight," Mulan answered promptly.

"Maybe you should take that as a hint to be more careful with your spellcasting?"

"I get results! I can't help if I'm an unconventional thinker."

"I think 'insane' is the correct word in this case," a voice said behind her and then Mulan found herself hovered down to the ground. "What are you _doing,_ Fa? Besides trying to make yourself into a splat on the ground."

Belle was silent and Mulan just _knew_ that she had something to do with this ... situation. She smiled up at Shang's stern face. "I wanted to see the view!"

Shang snorted. "You're as bad a liar as ever." He turned to Belle. "Thanks for telling me."

Belle smiled demurely -- as if anyone believed _that_ since she managed to charm their resident grumpy werewolf boy. "No problem. If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go see what my friendly beast is up to."

Another sign that Belle was at least as crazy as she thought Mulan was -- who called their boyfriend 'beast'?

Shang turned to Mulan the moment Belle was out of sight. "Now, what's this about you needing to tell me something? And why couldn't you just ask to talk to me rather than plot kidnapping?"

Mulan should've guessed something was up. Belle would never be party to a kidnapping. "Um," she said. It wasn't as easy to tell him as she thought it'd be. Half of her had probably thought he'd realize that it was her -- or him -- or her? Oh bother it at all. "I'm not a boy!" she burst out.

"I think I know that you're not a boy," Shang said, heroically not looking down as he continued, "there's certain evidence of it."

Mulan took a deep breath and dug inside her satchel for her crumpled hat -- why did they require you to buy it if you weren't going to wear it anyway? It was a moment's work to shove her hair under the hat and close her robe up over her uniform. She looked up at Shang expectantly.

"What are you--" he began, then frowned. "Ping? But--"

"I'm Mulan," she said meeting his eyes right on. She owed him that much. "Not Ping." She took the hat off and unbuttoned her robe. "I thought you should know."

Shang wouldn't meet her eyes when she looked up again. "I see."

"Shang," she said carefully. "I didn't mean to--"

He held up a hand. "Don't. Let me-- Let me think."

Well, Mulan thought as she watched him go, he's never going to like me now. She swiped a hand over her eyes, then began to trudge back to the common room to cuddle up with Mushu. At least her cat would never hate her.

***

The competition day dawned painfully sunny and bright and happy. Mulan couldn't really feel it as she marched with the other champions down to the beach. What would happen now? If she was to be honest with herself, the person at the bottom of the lake should still be Shang, but it couldn't be. Who would they stick down there if they didn't pick Shang? She looked up at the stands -- no, all the regular faces were there. Belle, Rapunzel, the beastly boyfriend -- even Eugene, who usually was far too busy getting up to some hijinks elsewhere.

"Good luck!" Rapunzel shouted down at her.

Mulan put on her brave smile and gave her a thumbs up.

The officials were as boring as usual, muttering on about rules and privilege and bravery. Mulan ignored them completely, going over the spellwork she was going to have to perform when they were finished. She'd decided to go for a water breathing charm that people usually forewent in situations like this. Sure, it had to be renewed every five minutes, but it took relatively little power and she wouldn't have to spend time after she finished the task flopping around like a fish on dry land -- literally, it seemed, in one of the other contestants’ case, judging from the Latin she was muttering under her breath.

The start signal went off and Mulan dropped her robe, then waded into the lake. Being dragged to the bottom because she was wearing the full school uniform didn't seem like a fun thing to do, so she'd grabbed her 'Ping' clothing for the event. It would be easier to swim in anyway.

The lake was murkier than she had expected, but a _point me_ had her swimming in the direction of the merpeople's home in no time at all. Dodging fish wasn't too hard either, it turned out, and as long as she watched out for the seaweed, the task would be hers. She grinned fiercely as she swam by fish girl fighting a bit of stubborn gillyweed.

It didn't take long until she caught side of the prisoners taken down below by the officials. The first appeared to be fish girl's girlfriend, the other some boy that could be a brother or a friend or a boyfriend for all that Mulan knew -- he wasn't a very talkative guy. The important thing was that he hadn't picked up his prisoner anyway.

She swam past them both, trying not to look at their slack, pale faces. If she didn't know they were out of danger-- Well, nightmares would be the least of it. Her prisoner was the last in line and when she came within view she almost gagged on the water, having forgotten to re-cast the charm. She hurriedly remedied that, then swam over, bobbing in front of him.

He was unconscious like the other two, hair floating like a halo around his head. Why was he down here? She knew that people could refuse -- she _knew_ that he wouldn't have volunteered-- Or would he? She wished she could wake him up and ask. Then she blinked. Maybe she could -- Ennervate and the breathing spell, it should be enough?

She cast them.

Shang blinked, then blinked again, looking around. When he saw her, he frowned and tilted his head questioningly. He didn't try to speak, which said a lot about his relative intelligence, in Mulan's opinion. She wasn't sure that _she_ wouldn't have tried if she suddenly woke up underwater with someone staring at her.

Biting her lip, she recalled a bubble charm and started to draw in the water between them with the tip of her wand.

_Why are you down here?_

Shang stared at her. She held out her wand helpfully, the tip still sprouting bubbles. He shook his head -- fondly? it looked fondly -- and grabbed her other hand instead, pointing to the surface. Well, if he was going to be that way, Mulan thought and began to surface beside him.

They had ended up pretty far out on the lake, Mulan realized as her head came over the surface, far enough that they would have to figure out how to get themselves to the shore without needing to swim all the way. She turned to say that to Shang and found him much closer than she expected. She 'eeped' and forgot to kick properly, sinking promptly.

When she got back to the surface again, Shang had somehow managed to solidify the water beneath his feet and did the same for her. "You must be the most frustrating girl I know, Fa Mulan," he told her.

She stared at her feet, visible only as moving shadows beneath the water. "I'm sorry for not telling you about Ping."

Shang shocked her by laughing. "Well, in hindsight I feel pretty stupid for not realizing you're a girl." He reached for her hand and she let him -- out of pure surprise if nothing else. "So," he said, actually sounding nervous, "what do you think about going to Hogsmeade together sometimes? Without having to be dressed like a boy."

Mulan blushed. "I would like that."

They looked at each other for a moment, both pretty red in the face, then laughed.

"Let's get back to the shore," Shang suggested. "You still want to win this task."

"Can this thing move?" she asked, stomping on the flat surface beneath them.

Shang nodded and showed her the incantation. Soon enough, they were getting back at a pretty good speed.

***

She won the second task. As for the date with Shang... Well, that was another story.


End file.
